And the heavens were no longer watching
by Shuri 'in a world of black and white
Summary: In this barren waste land we call the world, different stars rise and fall. I loved him. I loved her. And yet for what, if all falls to nothingness? Two couples desperately hold on to their sterile love, but all for waste.
1. Edward and Winry

_Yes, I'm finally back._

_I just re-watched the entire Fullmetal Alchemist series during my spring break, and I realized how much I actually loved the series. So, of course, I decided to come back from my little "writer's block" with an FMA fic._

_This story pretty much consists of 2 oneshots. This is the first, a little episode of Ed and Winry. I'm thinking this took place sometime when Ed went back to Resembool to get his automail fixed after his confrontation with Scar..._

_Standard disclaimers apply, and the characters are a little OOC, I must admit... Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

The night sky in Resembool was exactly as Edward remembered it from three years ago. The stars glistened in the night sky like a million diamond pieces. The beauty was constant, and had not changed or withered with time as everything else seemed to have.

He reached his right arm, the cold automail, to the sky. The piece of metal had then become a perfectly natural part of him, probably owing to the superb craftsmanship by his childhood pal.

Winry.

He lowered his arm and closed his eyes. The days he spent with her and Al in his hometown, when his mother was still alive and Den did not have _his_ automail, seemed like an eternity ago. And it almost was, just not in terms of time. With everything that had happened between the time their mother died until now, Edward did not feel at all like the fifteen-year-old he was.

Amidst all of that, something had grown in him that he really rather it hadn't.

"Ed?"

A voice he knew too well rained on him from above. He opened his eyes, and saw a pair of eyes the warmest shade of blue looking at him with concern.

"Winry, what are you doing out here?"

"Right back at you. You're going to catch a cold or something…"

Winry's long hair tickled his cheeks as she leaned down to talk to him. He sat up quickly and turned away, trying to hide the color rising in his cheeks. She seemed surprised by his reaction, but sat down beside him anyway. She must have taken shower or something, because her hair was damp and she smelled like…vanilla, he guessed. He never understood how girls expected you to know exactly what their shampoo was supposed to smell like, and why they got so upset when you got it wrong. Either way, the point was that the smell was not helping at all.

"I…just wanted to think. Alone."

Ed thought the last word came out a little more pointed than he'd liked, but Winry only smiled wryly in return.

"You do too much of that. Ed, please. Am I really not that trustworthy?"

"It's not a trust thing…I just…can't."

"You're such an idiot."

"You'll have to be more creative than that to get through my thick skull."

"I've noticed."

Winry sighed. Edward looked her way; it wasn't everyday such a headstrong girl sighed in front of people. He immediately regretted it. It was a full moon that night, and the soft light reflecting off of her hair and skin made her look like some fallen angel. He remembered some lecture by Mustang on how women you thought you knew would knock you off your feet under the moon. He tried to shake it off –it was _Winry_ for heaven's sake– but he probably knew, better than anyone, that he was just in denial.

She shivered, and only then did Edward notice she was only wearing a tank top. He would have lent her a jacket if he was wearing one, but he wasn't. He wondered if he should move closer to her to keep her warm, but he was too preoccupied with the idea of physical proximity. He was starting feel sick as it was, another inch closer would have killed…

She sneezed, and he ended up putting his left arm around her and pulling her closer. The vanilla (or so he thought) smell tickled his nose, and her warm breath near his ears caused some odd knot inside him somewhere.

"I miss you."

Winry whispered into his ear, and it was his turn to shiver. Just not for the same reason. The worst part was that she was completely oblivious.

"I'm here."

"No, not the way you were here when we were small. We've changed, and I know it's inevitable since we're still growing up, but still…"

"I wish that I could have stayed like that too."

_Probably more than you do_, Edward added in his mind. How nice would it be if he could go back to those days, before they tried to bring back their mother, before they left Resembool, before…

Before he had fallen for Winry the way he had.

"Ed, look at the stars."

Winry spoke out of the blue. She leaned ever so slightly towards Edward, and he suddenly became aware of how close Winry really was to him. He turned away again, and that knot inside him became tighter. He knew that she probably was smiling, and he hated himself for not being able to smile quite the way she could. He hated himself for not being able to enjoy that precious moment with a childhood friend quite as innocently as she probably was.

"You remember how we used to watch the stars all the time? In the fields? And we'd either get home too late or fell asleep there, and our…parents would get so mad at us. You, me, Al. Just the three of us."

"It's all gone now."

"…But why?"

Her voice shook as she looked up, trying to catch Edward's gaze. He deliberately averted his eyes from her, though, and she knew it. She just did not know why.

"Edward, look at me!"

She grabbed his chin and forced him to face her. But she looked so lost and afraid, her eyes wavering against the world. It was painful to see her s, but what really was taking his attention was his skin burning where Winry had touched him. His pulse was drumming in his ear, and he knew he had to look away if he wanted to keep his cool.

"Winry…"

"Please… Don't leave me alone."

Maybe it was her uncharacteristically weak voice. Maybe it was the desperation in how he she held him. Edward blamed it on the damned moon that was making them both so emotional.

He pulled her into an embrace and kissed her.

It wasn't a gentle or romantic kiss like either had dreamed of. It was hungry, and hard, and forced. Their teeth clashed, and the taste of iron filled their mouths. It was passionate, but in a savage, violent way.

And it felt so goddamned empty.

Edward let go. Winry was shaking, but he wasn't sure if it was because she was cold or if she was scared. Probably both. She was crying too. A wave of guilt slowly washed onto him.

"I'm sorry."

He said as he pulled away. He tried to look away too, but in vain; she just held his gaze, his entire existence, in her spell.

"Ed…"

"…I'm sorry. I…I really should go now."

_If I don't want to hurt you anymore_, he thought as he ripped his eyes off of Winry. It felt like he ripped a small part of himself. He stood up and faced his back to her, unable to stand the pain. The pain that he had caused, he knew, but hurt him nonetheless.

"Edward, don't…"

Winry grabbed his left sleeve and pulled it toward her wet cheek. She did not continue her sentence; instead, she held on to Ed's sleeve as though her entire life depended on it.

"Winry, please let go."

She merely shook her head. Edward was scared that the weird knot inside him would make him lose control, _again_, and hurt Winry, _again_. But by then, that knot was gone and was replaced by sadness.

Goddamned empty sadness. Like he was hollow, when Al was the one supposed to be an empty armor.

Edward slowly sat down again, still facing his back to her. But he did not pull away when Winry hugged him from behind. It was just them, and the somehow distant warmth of each other. Winry continued to cry on his shoulder until the night broke, and the beautiful stars were replaced with an equally beautiful sunrise.

Winry slowly pulled away from Edward's back, and walked back into the house. Neither said a word, then or later. The day went on as if nothing had happened that night.

And Edward was left alone to wonder if anything that night really happened, and what Winry had meant to say after the word, "don't".

* * *

_I wanted to write and EdWin where they both love each other, but while Edward is painfully aware of his feelings, Winry is still not sure. Edward takes that uncertainty as a rejection, so he tries to control his feelings but does not succeed..._

_Special thanks to: E.S., who I plagued with random questions while writing this fic, and reckless-rage, who sent me a nice PM..._

_and all of you who are reading this right now!_


	2. Roy and Riza

_Here comes part 2, with Mustang and Hawkeye. I have to say that this pairing is my favorite one in FMA right now. Oh dear._

_Disclaimer, disclaimer, disclaimer._

* * *

It was already 2230.

First lieutenant Riza Hawkeye sighed as she eyed her superior officer who, while scribbling madly at his desk as if there were no tomorrow, was cursing everything that existed under the sun.

"And what will the general say when he sees this? Oh, of course, he would _nonchalantly _point out how unrealistic the plan really is, and that I, the fire alchemist who rose to the position of colonel at the youngest age in the history of Amestris should have caught the underlying flaw. And he would conveniently leave out that _he_ proposed it in the first place, and I was forced to sign this document so it would seem as though I proposed it, and that it was all my fault. If he is mad that I flirted with his daughter and she fell for me, then he could just say so! I wouldn't have if I knew anyway, that airheaded stupid blonde…"

Hawkeye sighed again, this time in a more exasperated way. She was overcome by the urge to grab her gun and make a hole in that impossibly thick, useless skull, but stopped at the last second. Instead, she glared at that stupid, useless man who was the cause of this all.

"Colonel Mustang. If I may so _nonchalantly_ point out, you would not have had to stay late to sign all those documents if you had done so within the working day. Which you may have accomplished if you had worked at all this entire week, instead of visiting the local bar to flirt with women, such as the general's daughter. Also, if I may add, not all blondes are stupid. That is a gross stereotype, and you, of all people, should know that."

"First lieutenant Hawkeye. If you would like to leave early, you may. You only need to ask."

"Colonel Mustang. I would have done that before if I could. Unfortunately, I have learned through past experiences to know better than to leave you alone with a pile of work and expect it to get done. More importantly, however, most of those documents that you are working on right now need my authorization too. It was addressed to the entire troupe, not just you alone."

"First lieutenant Hawkeye…"

"Yes, Colonel Mustang?"

"…No, never mind."

Hawkeye sighed for the third time in less than five minutes. When she had signed up for the army, she never knew babysitting would be part of her work. Now that she thought about it, though, it took up more of her hours than actual military duty. It was _just_ great to be a mother, at her age, to a son older than she. Not.

She honestly, earnestly wondered why she swore to follow him, of _all people_, on the expense of her life. He seemed like the most immature, insincere, ambitious bastard that walked under the heavens.

"Riza."

He said abruptly, in that deep, sweet voice he used when he was seducing women. She bit her lip and ignored it. These were the moments she hated her superior with all of her might.

"Riza."

Mustang repeated, this time a little softer. She glared at him, _again_, a little more serious about her gun than she was five minutes ago.

"Colonel Mustang. If I may, it is against proper military protocol to address fellow officers by their given name during working hours.'

"It is past working hours, Riza."

"I believe that phrase means _while at work_. Which we both still are, for some _unfathomable _reason that I fail to notice."

His face fell noticeably. She felt like punching his face.

He almost made her believe that he loved her. She knew for a fact that he didn't. Thought her an irreplaceable, loyal subordinate and friend, maybe. Love, never.

And it was the moments like this, when he acted like he did around every other woman, when she felt her will slip away little by little.

"Riza, come on. We are most probably the only ones who are still in this building."

"_Colonel_. If you would take a mere moment out of your time procrastinating to look at the shadow of the building, I believe you will see several other rooms with the light still on."

"…All the documents that need your signature have already been signed. You don't actually have to stay, and yet you linger. Why, may I ask?"

"I do not trust you at all, that's why."

"Why not? Am I not a capable individual who is aware of what he has to do to get what he wants?"

"But only for what you want. You do not take a second look at something that is not to your interest."

"Riza."

He stood up, his onyx eyes set on her. She bit her lip harder this time, and actually took out her gun.

"Colonel, if you would please take your seat and continue with the paperwork, so we both may retire for the day?"

He merely smiled and took a step towards her. She released the safety lock, and aimed the gun right in between his eyes. A fatal spot. She could take his life painlessly in an instant if she had wanted to. He did not even flinch and took another step. He _knew_ she never would actually shoot him, and that irked her.

"Riza."

"...You have just violated military protocol number fifteen for the sixth time today."

"Riza, I love you."

She felt like her heart stopped for a moment. 'Actions spoke louder than words', and all of his actions screamed as though he did, but it was the first time he had ever said it out loud. She tightened her grip on her gun –the only thing she trusted her heart to at this point. She cringed as the muzzle of her gun met the forehead of her colonel.

"And number twenty seven for the first time."

"What would it take for me to prove that I am serious?"

"You can't, you aren't."

"Riza…"

He raised his hand and touched her cheek gently. There was a pleading look in his eyes that almost seemed sincere…

But no. She knew better than to let him get to her. He was a bastard. How many womens' hearts had she seen him break? _She_, Riza Hawkeye, was not letting herself become another of those women that Roy Mustang used and threw away like a piece of garbage.

"Riza, I love you."

It was all a lie, she told herself as his arms wrapped around her. His embrace was so warm, and she felt so safe…but no. She was not going to let him get to her. She knew if she did, she would turn into one of _them_. The only way to keep a permanent stain in his impeccable life was to be that loyal subordinate.

She _knew_ that. But then her colonel would unexpectedly do something _stupid_ like this, and her resolve would fall, little by little. And at the rate things were going, she felt like she would believe he loved her one day. No matter how strongly she vowed to fight against it, it was all futile. That damned colonel. That damned man.

Her arm dropped, and his embrace tightened. She looked out of the window in a desperate attempt to divert her attention. All the heavenly bodies were hidden behind a thick blanket of cloud, and it sounded like it had begun to rain.

She felt like crying.

* * *

_So here, Mustang loves Hawkeye, and Hawkeye feels herself falling for him too, but she is afraid that he will treat her like all of his other ladies. However, his ladies are a bad attempt by him to draw her attention, so the cycle goes around and around..._

_Thanks again to everyone who read it... reviews are very much appreciated...!_


End file.
